Before the recent test series between England and Pakistan in 2022, the English team visited Pakistan way back in 2005. Both teams had some top players in their ranks, and the duo of Andrew Flintoff and Shoaib Akhtar had a series to remember with the ball.
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Both Flintoff and Akhtar are aggressive personalities, and they have a never back down attitude. During the series as well, both of them got engaged in a verbal battle in the 2nd Test of the series at the Faisalabalad Cricket Stadium. Flintoff was famous for his off-the-field activities, and he even once got in trouble at Prime Minister’s residence.
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Akhtar was no different, and he also had a controversial career. He was once banned by PCB for a period of 5 years for breaking the player’s code of conduct. He was the fastest bowler ever and once he claimed all the Pakistani bowlers have done ball-tampering.
Andrew Flintoff once hilariously sledged Shoaib Akhtar
Talking to TalkSport, Andrew Flintoff shared an interesting story from the England tour of Pakistan in 2005. Flintoff revealed that Akhtar was having a go at him in Faisalabad, and he was constantly calling him fat. The English all-rounder said that he obviously was not going to take the sledge from Akhtar.
Flintoff then hilariously compared Akhtar to Tarzan and Jane, which ignited Akhtar. He insisted that the decision to sledge Akhtar haunted him straightaway, and the Rawalpindi Express took his wicket just moments after.
“Listen to this, got feelings. He [Shoaib] kept having a go at me. He kept calling me fat. Fat this, fat that. I am not having this, I am thinking am going to nip this in the b*** So, as walked in, said, Shoaib, it’s all right, you look like Tarzan, but you bowl like Jane,” Flintoff said to TalkSport.
“It haunted me straight away. I walked out to bat, I think 1st or 2nd ball, my off- stump was cart-wheeling back as he knocked it over. Then, as walked off, he gave me a big ‘OOOHHHH!”
This match ended in a draw, where Akhtar took the wicket of Flintoff in both innings. Pakistan won the 3-match Test series by 2-0, where Akhtar was the highest wicket-taker with 17 wickets in the series.
